


Hallowed

by deedeeinfj



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-09
Updated: 2013-02-09
Packaged: 2017-11-28 17:52:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/677173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deedeeinfj/pseuds/deedeeinfj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Trust me."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hallowed

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on Livejournal, 2003.

"Trust me, Sirius. I'll be fine."  
  
Sirius sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Okay. Okay, just... I'll be by to check on you later."  
  
"You don't need to do that," Peter insisted. "Really, it's fine. Just go home and get some sleep. You look horrible."  
  
"Thanks," he replied, attempting a grin. "But I  _will_  check on you."  
  
Peter gave him a look of concern. "If anything, Sirius, you're the one who needs protection. No one knows I'm the one, not even Remus."  
  
Remus the traitor. The words didn't even fit together in his mind. "Right," he said. "No one knows."  
  
\-----  
  
Even in the years when he couldn't keep track of time, when he followed the seasons only by the chill or warmth of his cell, he knew this night. He knew it by the anger and grief that clenched their fists inside him. He always found himself unable to transform, as if Peter's betrayal - his own failure - left him once again standing stupidly in a crowd. Clever, capable Sirius Black, following in dumb incomprehension as they took him away. Sitting in complete comprehension as the Dementors gathered outside his cell.  
  
But now he was in the forest, curled up at the foot of a tree where they'd always agreed to meet. Padfoot slept there every night, perhaps in some ridiculous hope that Prongs and Moony would appear and apologize for being so late. Tonight he didn't sleep. He stared at a tree root as furious pressure gripped his mind and stomach. Halloween night.  
  
 _Trust me, James._    
  
The windows of the Great Hall flickered and glowed with warm orange light, and even from this distance, Padfoot could smell their feast. He remembered those feasts, now that he was free again. Sweets piled over their heads, laughter and pranks, the night in third year when Halloween fell on the full moon and someone had to miss it.   
  
With all the students at the feast, no one would be in the common rooms now. He could easily sneak in and kill the rat. Padfoot's ears lifted at the idea of sinking sharp claws into the rat, ripping it to shreds until the worm tail stilled. It was what he should have done all those years ago. He rose, narrowed his eyes, and bared his teeth. He saw tousled black hair and a tumble of red in smoking ruins. Prongs and Moony would never meet him again at this tree, so there was no use waiting. Tonight, he would finally do something. He ran.  
  
\-----  
  
Remus stepped into the hall and closed the door quietly behind him. He paused for a moment, then gave a sigh of relief that Mrs. Black slept on. The house was deserted, just as he'd expected it to be on this night. He wandered through the rooms, unbuttoning his coat absently as he went. Sirius would be waiting for no one; Remus himself wasn't supposed to be here. He'd been away for two weeks, and was scheduled to stay a few days more. He came home early, and he didn't care what Dumbledore thought. The house was dark and quiet, even more than usual. Remus could almost feel the weight of its darkness on his shoulders. He tossed his coat and scarf on a chair and went upstairs, his breath misting in the chilly air and swirling away into the dark.   
  
He found Sirius standing in front of an empty fireplace. Surely Sirius had heard him walking around and entering the room. Stepping closer, he laid a hand on Sirius' arm. The lowered head turned towards him, and the next moment he felt a thin, shivering body against his, warm breath on his neck.   
  
"Remus."  
  
Remus said nothing, but he tightened his arms. "What was it like?" he asked. He had never asked before, and suddenly he realized that he should have. And "it" could have been anything, really. That night. Azkaban. Swimming in the North Sea with emaciated limbs and unused muscles. The year alone in the forest. Just being alone, for so long. He should have asked.   
  
"You don't want to know, trust me."  
  
"Yes, I do," he replied, pulling back a little to allow himself access to Sirius' eyes. "I want to know. Trust me, Sirius."


End file.
